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Israel’s Mossad to apologize for using UK passports

Sunday, December 26, 2010

DUBAI (AlArabiya.net)

The Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, will apologize for using British passports in the murder of a Hamas commander this year in Dubai, the Daily Telegraph reported Sunday quoting Israeli sources.

The newly appointed Mossad chief Tamir Pardo will promise the UK’s foreign secretary, William Hague, and the home secretary, Theresa May, never to allow Israel’s spies to use British passports during operations abroad, the paper reported.

Prado, who took over as Mossad’s head earlier this month, will make his promise as part of Israel’s attempt to quickly fully mend its relations with the UK government after tensions between them earlier this year.

The Dubai police identified 12 UK passport holders among those involved in the assassination of Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh prompting the Interpol to issue arrest warrants for them and the British government to open an investigation on the cloning of its documents.

In March, authorities in Britain expelled a Mossad official in London after the investigation concluded that Israel’s secret service had faked UK passports.

The then British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Israel had demonstrated "profound disregard" for British sovereignty. "The fact that this was done by a country which is a friend, with significant diplomatic, cultural, business and personal ties to the UK, only adds insult to injury," he added.

The Telegraph quoted a Mossad insider involved in planning the murder of Mabhouh as saying that Mr. Prado was opposed to using British, Irish and Australian passports in the operation.